


The Scientist

by Tanagariel



Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Assassins & Hitmen, Drama & Romance, F/F, cophine - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-14
Updated: 2014-07-23
Packaged: 2018-02-08 20:35:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1955319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tanagariel/pseuds/Tanagariel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Delphine Cormier lives by her own rules, she takes the job she wants and for that she has a price. Hiding behind names and appearances she will fulfill her contracts with success; until one day, a job she accepts, will lead her to find a person that might see the real her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's finally here my short piece of Assassin Delphine. Yes, this is short people, I s2g this is me writing short. The following story will be split in three chapters.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I still had blood splattered on my face, that damn idiot had moved and I couldn’t make a clean kill; ergo, getting all his stink on me. I removed my green contact lenses, and now I saw my real eye color: hazel. I let the water run for a bit, then I washed my hands, removing the dark crimson stains. Next I washed my face, and once done I dried my hands and face and got back to work. I walked to the living room of the small hotel, I don’t have much things in here, better to be ready to get the hell out just in case Interpol or another agency finds me, which I doubt, at least for now. I kept going to the bedroom where I sat on my bed. I took out from my pocket the burner phone I bought for this job. I sent to the client the proof of my success and discarded the phone immediately. I opened the lid of my laptop and entered the swiss bank website. I input my username and password and waited, and waited and waited. I refreshed the site and eureka, the numbers were moving: 45, 46 and 47 million dollars. I smiled in satisfaction.  
“Just 3 million more and I’m out.” I swore that once I reached my goal of 50 mil USD I would stop my illegal activities and enjoy life. I have done enough already.  
I ordered room service and turned on the TV. I was skipping channels when the news of my latest work appeared.  
“FInally! It took you time to find the body.” I increased the volume with the TV remote and heard what the news reporter had to say.  
“It is believed that this was done by a professional, the authorities are not sharing much information but a source says it has to do with The Scientist. The victim was part of a black trafficking group known as Topside.” The woman on camera kept explaining, “As far as we can tell The Scientist is one of the top 10 most wanted by the CIA and Interpol. The Scientist alone has stolen sensitive information from government institutions, valuable pieces of art; and killed people of the highest ranks and dangerous groups. The M.O. according to our source is that this person uses names of famous female scientists; her latest aliases included Marie Curie, Rachel Carson and Jane Goodall. The description is not clear, we just know that it’s a woman, possibly in her 30’s - 40’s. The most-”  
I was bored already so I turned off the TV. I had to give credit to the source of that reporter, it’s pretty much what I do. I got into this business when I was 16, when I hacked for the first time a national database just for the thrill, then I changed the school grades as a prank, everything was for fun until one day I got back home and my maman told me that my papa was dead. He had been murdered. He was in Germany at the time. I had no idea what he did until I dug into his whereabouts, I found that he was not a businessman but a spy for a military project, and a russian tycoon had him killed for the info he had. I set onto a revenge warpath bringing down those bastards, stealing from them, destroying their assets until there was nothing left. Others heard of me and so I began my work. By the age of 21 I had killed more than 15 men. I had now what I called my special scar collection; it was hard to fight when you were surrounded by three goons trying to cut your head.

I opened my safe and took out all the passports I had at the moment, I reviewed them one by one. I’m not using Barbara McClintock nor Diane Fossey anymore, maybe I should use this one here: Rosalind Franklin, or maybe for once use the real one. I opened my passport and read the information:  
Nationalité: Francaise  
Nom: Cormier Prénom: Delphine  
Lieu de naissance: Lyon Date de naissance: 21 Dec 1984  
It feels weird to see who the real me is; behind all the makeup, fake contact lenses and wardrobe to become other women I still manage to be me. That I have not lost myself in my characters is a miracle, yet who wants to be me? Delphine is lonely, she has no friends and is a master assassin and thief, besides being a rich girl in France. A bright mind gone to waste as ma mère would say, she thought I was just a snobbish girl spending too much money on luxuries that I didn’t need.  
I packed the few belongings I had and sat back in the bed with my laptop. I checked the next available destinations, maybe I should go to Asia and have some entertainment, the yakuza are a very interesting crowd. Hmmm, I was so close to my goal that I probably deserved a vacation to the Caribbean, but before any of that I better get back home to Paris. After all, I was by day an entrepreneur, a rich girl who traveled around the world because of boredom. At least that was the impression I tried to give, being the dumb blonde helped my cause. I had a small patisserie and I had to check that everything went smooth with the business.

 

“Dude, what the hell are you saying?” Scott Smith, the exchange student who came from the States, was skyping with someone, a girl by the voice coming out from the speakers. “Come on man, Aquaman is so underestimated, he could totes kick any other superhero’s ass.” I couldn’t help but giggle, Scott and probably his geek girlfriend were debating geeky things.  
“Cosima, what are you going to do with a Dolphin? Kill Batman?” Scott laughed with that weird laugh of his, he was very friendly and kind of awkward, he probably was crushing on me as well, but I only saw him as a friend and best employee. My life was pretty hellish already to include anyone in it. The past few relationships I had were forgettable and transient; no one could reach my heart, no one understood me, no one could erase the darkness within me.  
“See? You’re doing it again. Dolphins are cute and badass.” The voice on the speaker said. I had to interrupt the maybe lovers’ quarrel, “Scott, could you please send me the last two weeks sales report, s’il vous plait?”  
“Of course, Miss Cormier.” Scott said goodbye to his friend and got back to work, “I’m sending all reports right now.”  
“Merci.” I went inside my office, took a look at what Scott sent when a beep alerted me of a message.  
I checked the screen on my phone and by the encrypted message code I knew this was business for The Scientist.  
I logged into the forum where the mobsters, government officials and other millionaires contacted me with job proposals. I quickly opened a chat room and logged in as the baguette.  
“Well, let’s see who we have here.” I typed a greeting message first to see the reaction of this guest, logged in as the doctor.  
the baguette: Heard somebody might be interested in science.  
the doctor: Yes I might. If it’s what I have heard then yes.  
the baguette: I can show you what I got but first we need to meet a price.  
the doctor: That is not a problem. There is plenty if you can fulfill my request.  
the baguette: I don’t have time for this, if you have heard right you will know what to do.  
I closed the chat session, it was a rule of gold to never spend more than 5 minutes online, no matter how many firewalls and security I had I could not risk anyone ever finding out who and where I was. If this doctor was interested in me, my bank account should be getting a transfer pretty soon. It was a downpayment of 500k just to catch my interest, how exquisite I was. Another icon popped on my desktop.  
“Oh the bank account, let’s see, doctor.” I clicked the icon and logged into the account and then I saw my balance  
$47,500,000  
“Very good, we are on business.”  
I entered the website again and left a message in a forum: “how to get an appointment with the doctor?,” then awaited the response. I was in no rush, it was best if I took my time accepting this kind of offer. I closed the lid of my laptop and went back to the front of the store to work a bit.

Now that I was done for the day, I took my briefcase and returned home. Really, no one would ever think that a 5’7 woman who looked more like a model could be such a danger to society: a girl who entered the highest security building in Russia and stole a data chip; or who entered the Louvre and stole from under their noses a painting for a weird collector; much less that this was the person who killed a man known as The Undertaker. I didn’t understand what was the big deal with Interpol, I got their guys out of comission better than their own agents. I was doing their dirty jobs, they should give me a break.  
Once I made it to my home, I opened the door to my flat in le 16ème arrondissement de Paris. My apartment was not big but very comfortable, worthy of an heiress. My family was wealthy already, the Cormiers were in the business of biotechnology, supplying gene technology and medical equipment. I was supposed to follow those footsteps. I was going to study immunology, until tragedy knocked at my door.  
I headed to the kitchen, and quickly cooked a crepe for my dinner. I returned to the living room, set up my laptop and sat at my desk. I logged into the forum and saw the answer I was waiting for.  
San Francisco, CA. September 26th. Worldwide Genetic Engineering Convention.  
“Hmmm, what do you want me to do? Steal?” I thought. I wrote back again but this was quite interesting, maybe it was related to a bioweapon development or something like that.  
What do you need? Whatever it is it won’t be cheap, doctor. Send request and we’ll see if you meet my standards.  
While I waited for the response I ended up watching one of those rom-coms where girl meets boy, and they fall in love ASAP. If you ask me, that is kind of ridiculous, no one would ever fall in love that fast. That would be crazy. The story was unfolding rather nicely when suddenly everything went to hell: the girl was dying from a terrible disease, and the boy was going to lose her forever. I couldn’t stand watching it anymore, who needed more drama when my own life was a disaster. Another beep on my phone alerted me of a new message, I turned off the TV, logged into the forum and saw the response.  
Simple, retrieve a genetic sequence and dispose of the handler.  
That was two requests, to steal and to kill. I was too damn curious to find out about this genetic sequence, it wasn’t every day that I was tasked with this type of job.  
Interesting, 2.5 mil for the work. You’ll make a deposit in an account I’ll provide later in the Cayman Islands (50% in advance), when the job is done you will pay the rest and then I’ll proceed to deliver the goods. As soon as I get the down payment I shall proceed, once in location I will contact you and you will send the specifics.  
I closed the lid of my laptop and went to my bedroom. It seemed I had new work. Hopefully everything was going to go great.

 

I told Scott that I was traveling again, he assured me he was going to take care of the shop and wished me a good trip. I was glad Scott was here in France, he really was a good manager. In return I paid his expenses while he was in university to finish his doctorate in God-knows-what. I arrived to San Francisco under the name of Caroline Herschel, who discovered the planet Uranus with her brother. Once I was established in my hotel, I drove near the convention center where they were going to have this gene tech meeting, filmed the perimeter, and observed the surrounding zone where police activity was detected the most. I kept driving for several hours, studying the traffic, getting used to the area of the job. I decided I had done plenty of research today and I was pretty tired, all I wanted now was to go back and sleep. I still had time to return tomorrow and walk closer to see the convention center, I had several weeks before the date given by my contractor. I took a turn to the left when THUD! out of nowhere I hit someone.  
“Mon Dieu!!” I got out of the car to see if I ran over this person.  
“HOLY WATERSHED!” a girl was sprawled on the pavement, her head was bleeding.  
“MERDE!” I was pretty scared, I had never ever run over someone. Actually I had, but not a civilian.  
“Shit,” the woman complained, she tried to get up but she was kind of dizzy. “I’m so sorry, I um, I didn't see you coming dude.”  
“Let me help you.”  
“Nah, I’m good, I swear.” The girl squinted her eyes, looking on the floor for something, so I looked, too, and when I saw the black-rimmed glasses, I took them and handed them to her. “Ici. I think we better take you to a clinic, oui?”  
The girl put on her glasses, that’s when she really saw me, by the look on her face.  
“Wow, er, I mean, no no, I am really good. It was my fault, I shouldn’t be fooling around. So sorry. I am too old for this shit.” The way she moved her hands while she talked was quite hypnotic, her bracelets rang when her arms flailed around. Dark eyeliner surrounded her hazel eyes, and her dark dreads were held in a bun. She was pretty short, but I found the height difference quite endearing. The wild skater picked up her broken board and grinned. Her fangy smile was cute, I had to admit it.   
“I am sorry, too. Please, at least let me take care of your wounds.”  
“Okay, deal. I’m Cosima.” The dreadlocked woman extended her hand confidently.  
“Delphine. Enchantée.” I shook her soft hand, and I made my first mistake. Never give your real name while on a job. I better keep it together and get back on track.  
“Enchantay.” The girl mimicked in a terrible accent, however I found it extremely lovely.  
“You a doctor?” The girl asked while I drove to the hotel to tend her properly.  
“Not a physician, I have a PhD in immunology.” I kept to memory my info for the mission reciting each and every part of the character I had prepared.  
“Cool, I’m evo devo.” The girl was smiling again, her tongue poked at her teeth and that was ridiculously sexy. Okay, I really need to get my shit together.  
I frowned, not quite getting her ramblings, “Evo? Oh Evolutionary Development. You are a scientist.” She seemed rather pleased.  
Once in my room I cleaned her cut efficiently. Thanks to my own self-surgery skill I took care of her gash in no time. I paid attention to her while I patched her up. She had rings in her fingers except on her left hand. Not married I guessed. The way she spoke was confident, direct, no crap. She was carefree and independent. Centered in her studies and curious by the types of questions she made, which were pretty clever. I made a small profile of Cosima Niehaus in an instant, she was so open, trusting, that it was easy to read her. Then her voice interrupted my train of thought.  
“Um, so Dr. Beraud, can I invite you to dinner, I mean, to apologize and to thank you for this.” she pointed at her bandage head.  
That caught me by surprise, I never expected an invitation to eat out, much less with this girl.  
“I promise I won’t try to seduce you into bed with me, Delphine.” Cosima curved her lips, her white teeth showing, the mischief in her eyes. “Though I wouldn't mind.”  
That made me giggle, “Cosima, you are a very cheeky girl. But dinner sounds good.”  
“Cool, um, tomorrow night works for you?”  
“Oui, it is perfect.” I responded without thinking. Second mistake, avoid being seen in public. Nonetheless, all I wanted was to have dinner with that girl.

The next day I went to pick up Cosima at her place, I knocked on her door and when she opened she was still not ready.  
“Oh, am I too early?” I asked.  
“Oh no no, I’m always kind of late, kind of always sorry.” She went to finish getting dressed and I waited patiently. Her small apartment was a whirlwind of items everywhere; books on the floor; clothes hanging on the bed and chairs. Just like this girl, who was like a tornado.  
Once in the restaurant that she recommended, we talked about everything; Cosima knew about so many things, it was really a pleasure to talk with someone so well-versed in such interesting topics.  
We drank red wine and made jokes and it was the most normal thing in the world, I felt at ease with Cosima.  
“So you are from France? What brought you to the west coast?” Cosima tilted her head, eyes on mine.  
“Business, I am attending a Gene Tech conference later this month.” I kept eating until I noticed a man at the bar. It was clear he wanted to keep a low profile. Merde, it seems I was sloppy and someone followed.  
“Dude, me too! That’s hella great, man. I even have a conference about gene patenting. Hope to see you there, Dr. Beraud,” she teased. Cosima was a huge distraction; she was bold, flirty and honest. I couldn't focus on that man if she was looking at me like the most beautiful thing on earth.  
“I would love to.” I concluded our dinner, aiming special attention to the man. I asked for the check, but Cosima insisted she was paying. We headed to the car, and I opened the door for her, then made up an excuse to go back and deal with the man, who I noticed stood up and followed us.  
“Cosima, I forgot something, could you wait for me in the car?” I left her on the passenger seat and went to look for the suspicious guy, who I found in a dark corner where he couldn't be seen by other customers. I was making myself the obvious dumb woman to avoid alerting him that his charade was blown. He took out a cigar, and I got closer, “Excuse me, what time is it?” When the creep looked at his watch, I hit him in the nuts, and as he bent over I kneed him in his stomach. I walked behind him and quickly rolled a thin wire around his neck, pulling it hard. He was gagging, trying to get air in his lungs, his hands desperate to free him from the wire, but it was so thin that it was going to be almost impossible for him to do so.  
“Who sent you? The russians? The government?” I whispered in his ear.  
The man kept trying to free himself, yet I needed him alive, as soon as I released the pressure he stood up and pushed me, and I fell on the floor; however, I rolled on my back and was up in a second.  
He threw a punch, I ducked and with my palm hit him in the nose, a cracking sound, a muffled scream and the blood were signs of my successful attack. I kicked hard his knee with my heel and another crack made me smile in victory, the man fell to the floor, knee busted. I took out a knife I had hidden under my dress and pushed it in his stomach while covering his mouth to shut him up.  
“I am not going to play games, you will tell me who sent you!” I growled.  
“Fuck you, bitch,” the man spat.  
“Bien, je n'ai pas le temps pour ces conneries.” I cut his trachea and I waited until he died, checked his pockets for an ID and took it with me. I made sure no one was around and pulled the body near the trashcan of the restaurant in the dark and lonely alley. I removed the gloves I had on and put them inside my pocket since they were pretty bloody. I returned to the restaurant and saw my reflection in a mirror, I made sure I had not a sign of blood and then went back to Cosima.  
“Sorry for the delay, I got distracted and I had to buy this wonderful Cabernet Sauvignon if you would like to join me.”  
“Sure, of course.”

I drank wine with Cosima all night at her place, it was so much fun with her, I was completely focused on what she had to say, I forgot about the reason I came here. Cosima was laughing with a woman who just killed a man twice her size. And yet, I didn’t feel dirty with her, it was like all my sins didn’t matter with her. I felt safe in her company.  
“So I have been mostly fighting against the big corporations, such as the Dyad Institute,” Cosima explained as the goal of her conference. She went on, “Which I thought was something praiseworthy, if we could let its developments reach more people, instead of the corporation’s pockets.” Cosima Niehaus was all heart, her desire to help was amazing, such selflessness.  
“Maybe I can help with that,” I retorted, smiling at her. When was the last time I smiled this much? Genuinely.  
She chuckled, “Dude, it’s a lot of money. No offense, Dr. Beraud, but I don’t think that’s possible.” Oh, Cosima if you only knew, I could give you the whole world if you wanted. I had plenty of money to pay for your project, but of course, I wasn’t going to say that.  
“I had to try,” I joked. We both laughed, and when the laughter died we just stared at each other, Cosima moistened her lips, those luscious lips; all right, enough of the lips, I had to get back on track, yet, I kept looking at her eyes, then her lips, and how close she was getting to me and why my heart was beating this fast and wha-  
Mon Dieu! Her lips rested on mine, I froze, but her lips kept pressing mine invitingly, so I kissed her back, and when I came back to my senses and realized the idiotic thing I had done I backed off.  
“Oh god, Delphine, sorry, I didn’t mean to disrespect, I thought-”  
“Non, it’s okay, I have to go, it’s pretty late so...” With the lamest excuse ever I stood up and went back to my car.

I felt terrible, and not because of the man I killed, I could care less about him, it was her I was thinking about, a girl I just met and I was swooning for her, how was that possible? Once I reached my room, I removed my dirty dress and saw that it was damaged, meaning I had to dispose of it. I cleaned my knife and then I took a long hot bath.   
I heard my phone bleep, I put on my bathrobe and walked to my bed where I had my briefcase, took out my phone and saw that I had an encrypted message. I put on an old t-shirt and underwear, grabbed my computer, rested it on my lap and checked the message. The file contained all the subject’s info and who I was supposed to kill, I opened the file and that’s when the world came crashing down on me.  
Steal the genetic sequence from Cosima Niehaus and then, dispose of her.


	2. Chapter 2

I had no words, so many thoughts flooding my mind, I had to kill the girl I met yesterday, the girl who in less than 24 hours had caught my attention in ways that no one else ever did. We kissed only a few hours ago and I couldn’t stop thinking about it, either; I was in serious trouble. This was the third mistake: never involve your feelings.  
I was smitten by Cosima Niehaus; I wasn’t going to deny that, even though I had never kissed a girl before, I knew sexuality was a spectrum; however, it never crossed my mind that I was going to fall in-between this spectrum. Cosima did things to me: that smile of hers sent my heart-beat to the heavens; she made my skin tingle when she touched me. This reaction was taking me by surprise, and this doctor wanted her genetic sequences and death. Now everything made sense, the man who followed us was actually following her. Whoever these people were, it seemed there was a huge interest in this work Cosima was doing. I had to learn exactly who Cosima Niehaus was and what she did.  
I spent the next hours reading about the PhD student-wonder of the University of Minnesota and how she developed a new synthetic sequence to clone mammals successfully without mutations or any other side effect. According to the paper I was reading, she still needed to develop one last sequence in order to make it viable for humans to replace organs and provide a much-needed help. If she did that and patented her work, those corporations were going to lose and big time. It made sense to get rid of the competition. Probably there were many companies interested in dealing with her. I had to get that sequence first. In order to keep her safe, I had to get to her before anyone else did, and that meant getting closer to her. Fils de salope! I was invested in this, and not for the reason I came here for.  
MERDE! MERDE! MERDE!  
Two days had gone by and I already had the itinerary of Cosima during the speech she was going to give. I had mapped out the convention center and streets that could help me to move smoothly. I only needed to approach her and find out where she had the sequence hidden. I stuck my knives in my thigh and ankle holsters and strapped a gun to my back, and once I was all armed and ready I dressed to meet the wonderful Cosima.  
“Co-si-ma.”  
The name felt like silk on my tongue; the images of her beautiful smile, her flailing hands, her voice; all of her invading my dreams, her lips over and over savoring mine, sweet honey spilled, the oh so delicious flavor making me crave her mouth again. I was in so much trouble; the best I could do was complete the job and get out, and yet…  
I knocked on her door and waited, when she opened the door she smiled, happy to see me, she allowed me inside her apartment.  
“Dude, I am so sorry, I tend to jump to conclusions and well, you’re not gay. So sorry.”  
“It’s okay, I overreacted and I am sorry as well.” I smiled a bit shyly at her, I felt so small with her so vulnerable, it didn’t matter that I was taller she made me feel like a confused teen all over again.  
“Cool, now we can focus on making crazy science?”  
“Crazy science? Yes, let’s.”  
I invited her into the city, and she showed me around like the best tour guide one could have asked for. The way she described her surroundings was the most magical thing, she saw the beauty of everything. The world was marvelous to her, and it was difficult not to believe it was for me as well.  
She took me later to a walk on the beach, the breeze felt delicious over my skin, the sound of the waves reminded me of her waving hands; she was flow, movement, perfection. After a while we sat there together on a pretty private spot, far away from prying eyes; however, I sensed that she was keeping her distance from me, not touching nor making any move towards me. She was being respectful of my personal space, and that made me adore her more.  
“I was working on host-parasite relationships,” I kept with my cover story.  
“Interesting, I bet you could describe those relationships in such depth. Dude, it has to be hella cool to know about that.”  
My eyes kept diverting to her mouth, I needed a distraction or else my mouth was going to look for hers, and that was a big no. Instead, I took out a cigarette and lit it.  
“Would you like one?” I offered her the box, but she declined politely.  
“No, just pot for me.”  
I raised my eyebrows in wonder,   
“Mmm.”  
“One day I’m going to get you so baked,” she promised.  
That made me smile.   
“Okay, one day,” I agreed. If only I could keep you alive.  
I released the last puff of smoke and buried the butt of the cigarette in the sand. “Tell me, Cosima, how you ended up presenting a conference when you are not even done with your PhD. I mean, I don’t want to sound like a pretentious bitch, but that is a feat.”  
She cackled hard,   
“Nah, you could never be a pretentious bitch, in reality you are a little puppy, with those beautiful golden curls.”  
“Brat.” I nudged her on her shoulder.  
”Yeah, I mean it makes me wonder as well, I got an invite from the Dyad Institute. Dr. Aldous Leekie told me he was interested in my work, and he wanted me to share it with the scientific community.”  
“Dr. Leekie? Hmm, isn’t that the same corporation with world control domination issues?” That made her burst into laughter, and she fell on her back. Lying on the sand, she was holding her stomach, trying to hold her belly laugh.  
I laid on the sand as well, marveled by how at-ease and comfortable I was with her. I propped my head on my elbow and looked at her laughing like a kid. When she calmed down she kept smiling, and I simply had the need to reach for her, so I caressed her cheek. It felt so right just to touch her, and she kept her hazel eyes fixed on me, not moving. She was giving me the freedom to choose what to do next; should I back off and ignore this inner desire to taste her, or should I give in and bury myself in her?  
“I can’t stop thinking about that kiss.” I traced her jaw next. She remained still.  
“Like not in a bad way?” she asked curiously.  
“Like I never thought about bisexuality for myself, you know. You are a scientist, I’m not giving you a speech about sexual spectrums.”  
She smiled,   
“That’s oddly romantic...and totally encouraging.”  
Oui, c’est vrai. This was the worst mistake I could ever do. Fourth mistake: never fall in love with your subject.  
I kissed her like there was no tomorrow, burying my tongue inside her mouth, and the way she responded was intense and fierce, thirsty. My hand was traveling on the curve of her hip, while my other anchored me to the sand, holding my weight. I was kissing a goddess; Cosima’s lips were sinful, addictive, and I never wanted to kiss anyone else. I was desperate to feel her skin, my hand pulled at her tank top, lifting it enough to give me access to her stomach. Her skin was smooth, hard muscle beneath, it was glorious. I dropped tiny kisses along her neck, and the way she held me, pressing us closer, her arms snaking around my neck, oh how I wished I could say to her to never let me go. Out of nowhere droplets of water started to fall, which made us stop the makeout session.   
“Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?” I asked. her flushed cheeks were so beautiful, I kissed her again.  
“Yes, of course.” A wide grin appeared, her eyes were dark, lustful.  
“I’ll pick you up at 9. Now let’s go, before it rains harder.” I stood up and helped to lift Cosima from the sand. I shook my blouse to get rid of most of the sand and then laced fingers with the woman by my side. We walked hand in hand and never let go until I dropped her home.  
Tonight we chose Chinese. We chatted again about various topics; however, I needed to focus on getting the damn sequences she had.   
“Are you alright, Delphine?” Cosima furrowed her brows, looking at me worriedly. I was too tense, scanning our surroundings while we talked. I had already spotted two men watching her; I’d seen them near the beach as well.  
“Nothing, I’m just thinking that the conference is next week and I’ll have to go back to Paris after that.” It was the truth, and that was the best thing that could happen to Cosima right now, that I went away from her life.  
“Oh, yeah, that’s right.” By her expression it seemed she realized that this was temporary, it had a date of expiry; whatever was going on between us, it was going to end, and soon.  
“Let’s focus on something more interesting. Talk to me about that gene sequence you told me you developed.” At that her face lit, she was so excited to talk about it. I could spend an eternity listening to her speak about science. It was like she was possessed and she had to get out from her chest all the facts and things she knew about the topic in question.  
“How exciting it must be for you, creating viable clones. And where do you keep that sequence?” I asked as smoothly as possible, trying to show some interest.  
“Right here with me.” She took out from her pants pocket a small notepad, “This is where I have the genetic sequence.” My eyes were wide, how naïve of her it was to carry such an important item. Why didn’t she have it hidden in a safe box, does she have any idea that people want her dead for this sequence?  
“Shouldn’t that be in a safe?” I tried to put some sense into her, but she was who she was.  
“This? Nah, it’s just a sequence of nucleotides, why would I put that in a bank?” She simply ignored my suggestion.  
“Well, you should, Cosima, that is important work, what happens if you lose it?”  
“OUCH, I know I’m a disaster, Delphine, but I wouldn’t lose something this important.”  
“You’re right, I’m sorry. That is none of my business anyway.” I was a bit upset, I wanted to scream at her that her life was in danger, but if I did I would blow my cover. For now I had to concede and wait to get rid of those men.

“Hey, no need to fight over this stupid notebook. Let’s enjoy our meal.” She extended her hand and rested it over mine. I smiled trying to reassure her; however, I was worried for the two grunts waiting to make a move, they were going to do it as soon as we moved away from all these witnesses. I had to lure them out and keep Cosima inside the restaurant. When she excused herself to go to the washroom, I took the chance and went out to meet the two men, “Excuse me, gents, but I have the feeling that you are after my mark. Leave her alone or I promise I will bring death upon both of you. Tell your boss that Caroline Hershel sends her regards.”  
I returned to the table, paid the check and waited for Cosima. I hoped that those two morons let their boss know that The Scientist was around; no one wants to mess with me. From the corner of my eye I saw the taller one make a call; he was reporting to his boss. I guided Cosima quickly to the car and departed to my hotel, I was not going to leave her alone now that more were after her. The conference was close, and they were not going to allow her to give her speech.  
“Do you like truffles?” I asked the wandering Cosima.  
“Um, I have never tried them.” She sat on the couch, her eyes paying close attention to the room, probably realizing how tidy it was. I tried not to mess with the rooms where I stayed, avoiding leaving prints and clues just in case. I went to the kitchen and grabbed the bag with the delicacy. I took two glasses and a bottle of wine and put them on the table. I offered Cosima a glass of wine and I drank from the other.  
“Now is your chance to try them.” I smiled encouragingly, and she took one from the bag and ate it. The way she closed her eyes while chewing looked like the most incredible religious experience.  
“Mmmm, this is good. But Eskimo Pies are still number one on my list.” She took a sip of her wine again.  
I frowned, “Eskimo?” I had never heard of that.  
“Dude? Are you serious?” She was looking at me in disbelief, I nodded in response. “Whoa, we need to solve that ASAP, you are going to become a craven addict.” She lifted up from the couch, put on her red coat and was going to go away to buy the Eskimo thing. I had to stop her, or else those grunts were going to kill her on the spot.  
“I’d rather try something else, first.” That caught her attention, she was curious by nature and she stopped on her tracks. I walked towards her, cupped her face with my hands and kissed her. She was hesitant by the way she held onto me, but I kissed her confidently, sure of my decision, and she went with it.  
I tried to remove her red coat, the material bothersome to my hands; I wanted to feel only her skin. We split apart for a second as she took off the coat, and then I snaked my arms around her and kissed her deep. She kissed me back, matching my intensity, my arms pressing her closer, until there was no space between us. In that moment, there was nothing else in my head but her; no assassins outside, no contract to kill her, rien.  
When we split a second time, Cosima held my hand and guided me to the bedroom with this huge smile on her face, and the way her cheeks flushed was very cute. I could stare at her for eternity.  
I kissed her once more, and she smiled, teasingly. She unbuttoned my blouse, revealing my torso to her, and the way her eyes darkened when she focused on my breasts was ego-boosting. She kissed my collarbone, hands over the fabric of my bra, squeezing softly before unclasping it and removing it; Cosima was gentle, sweet, careful. She stepped back and removed her glasses, putting them on the nightstand, then her clothes; she pulled me to bed with her, and when I was on top we kissed, her hands roamed on my back, caressing me. She bit my earlobe and whispered,   
“You sure?” She cupped my cheek, looking at me with lust and care, wanting to make sure that I was comfortable with this. She knew I was a total noob sleeping with the ladies, but she was patient, giving me all the time I needed.  
“Oui, I want this, I want you, Cosima.” Her response was the biggest grin ever, then she rolled us, and now she was in command, taking care of me, confident and sure of what was happening right now. She kissed me and kept going down, stopping a bit to tend my breasts before she kept going south, and when she touched me I moaned a bit.   
“Shit,” she said, between breaths. Cosima slowly removed the piece of clothing separating her from my wet core and then she feasted on me, or that was the impression I had. Then she lifted her face and checked me out, naked. I felt a bit embarrassed, but the way she was looking at me made me feel so beautiful. She tilted her head, squinting her eyes to see clearly without her glasses, and then she simply said, “Oh.”  
Oh? What does she mean by that? She looked at me, worried, and then it hit me. Merde! My damn scars.  
“It is okay, Cosima, if you don’t want to-”  
“No no no it’s just that, I don't want to pry, but are you okay? I mean, you have several on your torso, it’s like someone tried to kill you.” She was curious by nature, but the preoccupation in her expression, the way her fingers caressed my scar on my abdomen, no one had ever treated me like this, and boy she was correct: many have tried to kill me. I really didn’t want to lie to her anymore; I was building this thing between us over lies. I was feeling guilty already for what I was doing to her. Instead, I avoided telling her the truth by not lying about it.  
“It’s nothing to worry about, Cosima, I am fine. I’d rather not talk about it, s’il vous plait.”  
“Okay.” She smiled again and got back on track.  
If my french muttering weren’t evidence enough of the amount of pleasure she was giving me I really don’t know what else could. Her fingers were pumping inside of me, fast, while her mouth did wonders. I held to the sheets hard, anchoring my body, my hips moving on their own, begging that woman to finish me off, and mon Dieu she did.  
I was left breathless, sweating and satiated; now I wanted to give her back what she did for me, and even though she protested, she was kind enough to guide me in order to pleasure her as best as I could. I followed her body’s reactions to my touching and kissing, the way she growled and cursed were also good indications of “so far so good.”  
“Faster, please.” I did as told, and when her muscles contracted around my fingers, that was the most arousing thing I ever felt.  
Both spent, we laid down, allowing sleep to claim us. As I felt my eyes closing, Cosima was beside me, arm over my stomach, breaths even. She was deeply asleep, and I wanted to join her so badly; however, I knew I had something else to do before that. I sneaked out of bed as silently as possible, searched her clothes and found what I was looking for. I walked on the tip of my toes outside of the bedroom, and in the living room I took pictures of her genetic sequence notes. I have never felt so dirty in my life, betraying her after the amazing sex we just had. I felt sick of the job for the first time in my life.  
I returned everything where it was supposed to be and went back to bed feeling like crap.

The next morning I woke up early, I had barely slept; the guilt was eating me alive. I even shed a couple of tears, yet it was better to not wake her up, instead I went to the shower and inside I let the tears fall freely. Once I finished I ordered breakfast for both of us, and waited for her.  
“Hey, you are an early riser.” Cosima walked in wearing one of my shirts, which was too long for her, and that was damn cute.  
“Oui, we have a lot of things to do, Ms. Niehaus.” She surrounded me with her arms and pecked me on the lips.  
“We do?” she asked.  
We discussed all the plans I had for us, the conference was so close now, I just had to keep her with me a couple more days. I told her to make a bag of all the things she needed in order to stay with me, which thankfully she didn’t object to. I escorted her back to her house, and while she made her bags I did business; I sent the file to the doctor and wrote in the message this ultimatum:  
Here are the genetic sequences you wanted, now back off from Cosima Niehaus, she is innocent. No harm shall come to her or I swear I will hunt you down.  
I closed my laptop and got off the car when I saw her coming with her bag, I helped her and off we went. Everything was so normal, the two of us walking hand in hand in the park, eating the famous Eskimo Pie she loved so much, having sex like two teenagers in heat. It was as normal as it could get and I was happy. And yet, nothing in my life that was happy was meant to last forever, while walking in the mall my phone bleeped, when I saw the encryption I knew.  
Sequence is incomplete, she dies.  
Non non non non,   
“PUTAIN!” Cosima looked at me a bit startled,   
“What is it?”  
I was tense and scared for her. I knew we were being tailed, and now they were going to make their move.  
“The genetic sequence is incomplete.” I blurted. With the corner of my eye I noticed movement; I took her hand and pulled her with me, moving quickly among the people in the mall back to the parking lot.  
“Delphine, what is going on?” she asked, nervousness in her voice. We moved at a faster pace until we reached the parking lot.  
“The sequence is incomplete!” I repeated, “You have to go away.” Cosima pulled free from my grasp.  
“You stop right there, Delphine, what the fuck are you talking about!? The sequence? You mean my sequence? Of course it is incomplete, I have the final sequence in my head.”  
Now I understood, my face showed desperation and fear, and she noticed.  
“What did you do?” She took two steps back, her expression neutral yet her eyes were fearful.  
“I can explain, but not here, you are in danger you-” and like calling danger a man came from behind her, knife in his hand. I pushed Cosima to the side, blocked the attack, and punched his ribs, but the man was huge; he counterattacked, elbowing my chin. I fell on the floor and he kicked me. I groaned, but I held the pain at bay, unsheathing the knife I had in my boot and slashing at him, drawing blood. This quickly turned into a knife fight, slashing and cutting flesh, then he launched forward and I let him inside my range of attack. He stuck the knife in my left shoulder, but that let him defenseless and with my right arm I stabbed him in the nape of his neck, killing him instantly. I was breathing heavily, holding my bleeding arm in place, when I realized Cosima was nowhere to be seen.  
“COSIMA!? COSIMA?” I spun around when I saw her come out under one of the cars. I went to her side and pulled her into an embrace, “We have to go now!” I grabbed her hand but she freed herself.   
“Don’t touch me!” she growled. Her expression was of distrust, confusion and fear.  
“Cosima, please, we need to get out of here, get in the car.” She hesitated but did as told, and I drove back to her place, because I would call much more attention if I arrived like this to the hotel. I tended my wound as best as I could with the available items, and then we talked.

“Now you’re gonna tell me what is going on. I want the damn truth!” Cosima demanded. I took a deep breath and I told her my story, what I did, and who hired me. Her expression became of horror, disbelief and I could see how my words hurt her bit by bit, tearing her apart.  
“Oh god, everything was a lie. You spy-banged me for the sequences? Who are you really?” She was furious, disgusted, but with herself. “I am so stupid.” Her voice was cracking.  
“Cosima, no, please listen to me. I wanted to protect you from all of this. I did not lie when I kissed you when I told you how much I cared for you.”  
“I don’t even know your real name for fuck’s sake. I slept with a complete stranger!” Her fists were closed, her fury increasing in waves.  
“Delphine Cormier, real French girl, also known as The Scientist, this is who I am.”  
“Shit, Cormier? Are you Scott Smith’s boss, in France?”  
“Scott? You know Scott?” And now it made sense, she was the geek girl who I thought was his long distance relationship.  
She laughed, the sarcasm rolling from her voice,   
“This is ridiculous, my best friend works for a psycho and he thinks that you are pretty hot.” She kept laughing, a tear slid down her cheek and she removed it with the back of her hand. “If you wanted the sequence so bad you could have asked for it, I would have given it to you freely. I told you I was willing to share it with the world.”  
Now I felt like the biggest asshole in the whole universe, I had ruined this badly.  
“You are not safe Cosima, you can’t speak tomorrow.”  
“I will, and neither you or your assassin buddies will stop me, now get out!”  
“Cosima, let me help you-”  
“GET OUT!!!” I was not going to win this argument. I had done plenty of damage already, so I took my jacket and left. As soon as I closed her door, I heard her letting out all the pain. Her crying tore me to pieces.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to the people that gave this short story a shot, (pun not intended) it is always a pleasure to share this different AU's with you all, as always feedback is always appreciated and stay tuned for more fics.  
> Special thanks to Sam aka lickathicket.tumblr.com for beta-ing this fic.

I really didn’t want to cry anymore, but the tears spilled from my eyes and there was no stopping them; instead, I let them fall until tiredness came and I fell asleep. When I woke up several hours later it was dark outside, so I rolled a joint and lit it. I sat at my desk and turned on my laptop, then I went to a search engine and typed ‘Delphine Cormier’. I clicked on several articles, most in French, but it was clear that it was all a façade, the Delphine that I met was not snobbish. To the public eye she was just a rich girl, and yet here she was killing people with a dexterity that was pretty scary. The way her body moved, responding to danger with flawless precision, not a single movement wasted; and her kills were accurate, she knew where to hit.  
I read all the information I could about The Scientist. I had to give it to her how brilliant she was, careful to not leave trails; she was a chameleon under each of those women she impersonated. It was somewhat artistic, actually. Nonetheless, she was not like any of those characters; who was the real Delphine? I knew who she was. I saw the real her, bathed in the blood of her enemies, killing efficiently; and yet, I also witnessed her smile at me genuinely, I sensed how she took my hand possessively, held me between her arms like she wanted me for real, and I felt her love me. Delphine Cormier was all of that: violence and love, coldness and warmth, all packaged in a pretty woman. I sighed. I was in love with a killer, how fucked up was this situation.  
I left what remained of the joint in the ashtray and went to take a hot shower. I was confused; I was hurt by her betrayal but enthralled by her protectiveness. I really didn’t know how to feel anymore. I just wanted this nightmare to end once and for all, and tomorrow I was going to share with the world the genetic sequence that was going to allow the production of cloned organs for transplant and not think about the evil plan behind this so called “doctor” who wanted my death. The water soothed the ache in my body, but there was nothing for the ache in my heart. Nonetheless, wherever I touched I could feel her, how her clumsy hands moved over my skin, and how little by little she gained the confidence to touch me like I wanted, until all I desired was having her inside of me.   
“And that is bullshit you idiot. Cut it out, dumbass, she fucking lied to you,” I said out loud, trying to put some sense back into me. But my heart did what it wanted, and so when I went to bed I dreamt of her; on her soft blonde curls entangled between my fingers; on her back freckles and how kissable she was; and then I remembered her scars, from bullets, knives and god knows what else over her hips, chest and arms and how I kissed her there, trying to ease the pain of those terrible memories she must have. Idiot.  
I was ready for the conference, I had my laptop inside my backpack and I had all the notes I needed stored as well. I went to pick up my skateboard and I remembered that Delphine bought me this one to replace the one that broke when I crashed into her car. Idiot.  
I skateboarded right to the convention center that was a couple of blocks away from my place; the sun was already setting, the wind was cold against my skin. I pushed off from the pavement to gain more speed, doing a couple of tricks on my way; couple of manuals, noseslides and twists. Not bad for a 30 year-old. When I finally arrived, I grabbed the skateboard up, showed my ID to the security guy, walked towards the room where I was going to present, and it was then I bumped into the one who invited me here. “Dr. Leekie.”  
“Hello, Cosima, glad you accepted our invitation. Thank you for coming,” Dr. Leekie smiled, and yet it didn’t reach his blue eyes.  
“No problem, glad to be here.” I smiled back awkwardly, waved bye to him and kept going. I entered the room where I was going to present and prepared my equipment. There were going to be at least 100 people from several companies, probs with offers to get the exclusive rights to my sequence. I walked up to one of the guys in charge of security.   
“Dude, can you lend me the list of the people who signed up for this, please?” The man handed me the list and I read it quickly, moving from doctor to doctor until I saw a name I recognized, “Shit, Florence Nightingale. Goddammit, Delphine.” The founder of modern nursing, it had to be her. Delphine was going to be here. I gave back the list and went to the podium to finish prepping for the presentation.  
The room was filled to maximum capacity, and I tried to spot her but I couldn’t. I waited until the host presented me, and on cue I walked to the podium.  
I followed the PowerPoint presentation, explaining in detail the purpose of this sequence, and how with the proper use we could create organs that were going to be fully-functional and compatible with the host. I kept rambling for an hour and a half answering the questions of the audience, and in the end the round of applause was incredible. As expected, I received several business cards with job offers, but the only one that caught my attention was from that rich bitch with the power suit. That woman exuded raw power.  
“My name is Rachel Duncan. It is quite interesting what you have to offer, please consider giving us a call.” She left her business card and left. Scary as fuck.  
I had no idea where Delphine was, the guests had already left the room. I picked up my things and went through the back door. I was walking when I heard a shot, and out of nowhere Delphine ran to me, gun drawn.   
“Woah, holy shit Del-“  
“GET DOWN!” she screamed. Instinctively I ducked and she fired the gun.  
BANG BANG  
And a man behind me fell, one bullet in his heart, the other in his head. Fuck, this woman was a good shot.  
“I have to get you out now,” she said between heavy breaths. She grabbed me by the arm and started to run; we went to the stairs and started to go down. Right behind us more men were coming. We made it to the underground parking and kept running, shots firing everywhere. She pushed me behind a car and started to shoot back.  
“Merde!” She tossed the gun with the now empty clip and took out her knife.   
“Don’t move, I will get you to safety.” She stood up and ran. There were a couple of shots, and when I dared to peek, Delphine was fighting against two men. She punched and kicked with incredible speed, even for a woman that tall. She dodged their attacks and struck back, kicking the man on her left, and with a maneuver she grabbed his arm and twisted until I heard a crack. The man screamed and in a swift motion she grabbed his head and twisted it, letting the body fall to the floor. The other grunt surprised her by punching her face, but she recovered quickly, dodging the other punches. He slashed with his knife, she blocked it, and with a roll on the floor she attacked his ribs, slashed with her knife, and then plunged it in his neck to slit his throat, the blood splattering her face.  
She grabbed my hand and we ran to the car, escaping from the parking garage. The cop cars were already surrounding the convention center when we passed the main entrance. She drove fast to the hotel.  
Delphine was limping a bit but she didn’t complain. She was a bit paler, too. Once we were in her room she laid on the couch “Delphine?” I asked.  
“I’m okay. Listen to me, take from that bag all the money you can carry and as soon as you are out of here, run. Go as far away as you can and don’t look back.” I sat close to her; the hell I was leaving her here to the mercy of those killers. I caressed her bloody cheek; her usual bright doe eyes were sad but focused.  
I kissed her lips, she was cold and trembling.   
“Shit, Delphine!” I saw her black shirt was soaked in blood, and when I lifted it I saw the wound. “You need a hospital.”  
“Non! I’ll keep them behind, let’s go!” I grabbed the money, put it in my backpack, and followed her. She gave me the keys to the car.  
“Take this car and go.”  
“What are you going to do? You need to stop that bleeding, Delphine.”  
“I will end this. I will kill Dr. Aldous Leekie and you will be safe.” She was leaning on the car now; she was so weak and I thought she was going to faint any minute.  
“Leekie? He is ‘the doctor’?” No surprise there, but still.  
“Oui, I will get rid of him and you will be fine. I promise I will keep you safe, Cosima.” She bumped her forehead with mine, closed her eyes and stood there, breathing in and out. “I wish I had a second chance with you Cosima, I’m sorry I-“ I kissed her, and she kissed me back, she embraced me hard and kissed my head. ”I don’t want to lose you. Delphine. Yeah, you kind of fucked it up, but I can’t help but feel butterflies when I’m with you.”  
“I will make it up to you, chérie.”  
She kissed me again and suddenly more guys appeared. Delphine was on the move. She took a running jump on top of a grunt and stabbed, then she took a dagger from her boot and threw it, hitting the body of the other, killing them both instantly.  
“Now go, Cosima, please trust me on this. I will deal with Leekie. Please go now.”  
“Will I ever see you again?” I asked. I knew she was on a suicide mission and that this might well be our farewell.  
“I’ll find you, no matter where you are. I promise.”  
“Okay.” I kissed her one last time, took the car and drove away.

3 months later…  
I have not heard from Delphine since that night in the parking lot. The last I heard of Dr. Aldous Leekie, he was found dead on his flight to Canada; no one knows what really happened, except that in the flight manifesto there was a Maria Meyer, the physicist who received a Nobel Prize for suggesting the nuclear shell model of the atomic nucleus. I knew it was her. I waited for Delphine to come back, but she didn’t. I took a flight to France and found Scott, and I’ve worked with him since then. He informed me he had no idea where Delphine was, it was very common for his boss to travel for many months. I wanted to believe that she was fine. After all, she promised she was going to find me, but as the weeks passed and I still had no news of her, I was afraid that she was never coming back.  
The money Delphine gave me served to rent a place here in Paris, so I went to work with Scott and basically ran the store in her absence. I walked through the Pont-Neuf every day to reach the Patisserie, and today was no different from other days, until a kid came running up to me.  
“Mademoiselle! Excuse-moi! Vous avez laissé tomber ce.”  
I had no clue what she said, but I took what she held out nonetheless. It was an envelope. There was nothing written on it. I opened it and there was a card inside, it was of...   
“Truffles? What the?” I looked at my surroundings and yet I saw nothing suspicious, then looked again at the card and saw that there was an address written on the back. I followed the instructions, and when I reached the place I saw that it was a small villa. I walked toward the door and knocked several times before I tried the knob, and the door opened.  
“Um, hello? Anyone here?” I went inside and walked to the living room, where I saw over on the table “Eskimo Pies.”  
“Bonsoir, ma chérie, I brought eskimo pies. Hope you don’t mind.”  
I turned around, and when I saw her in one piece, smiling like an angel sent from heaven, I grinned like an idiot. The Scientist was back home.


End file.
